


The Long Road Towards Home

by Galdr



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates, Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-06
Updated: 2016-09-15
Packaged: 2018-07-29 15:19:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7689700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Galdr/pseuds/Galdr
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What's a boy to do when he and his family are thrown in another world? One that, maybe, his mother might've have "visited" a long time ago before he was born? Not only that, but they were all separated? Logical thing to do: start looking for them while avoiding suspicion with the country's armies, evading the fell dragon cultists that discover his true identity, combating evil dragons once more and looking for the way home again.</p><p>(Very slight Fire Emblem: Revelation spoilers; granted, not as much but still, read at your own risk. Rating may change much later.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Familiar? Maybe so.

To be honest, he wasn't sure if he was going the right way, or if he was actually in the right place.

He and his family were on a worldwide trip to spreading peace to other places around the continents, in both Hoshido and Nohr. They had been at it for two years, not once settling down. They would oftentimes return to Shirasagi to visit their aunts and uncles and spend time enjoying festivities whenever they arrived. Other times, it was Krakenburg, with his aunts and uncles there and festivals held in the Nohrian capital. Other visits were taken to his father's home or at his mother's natural home, in the not so hidden kingdom of Valla.

Thanks to efforts to both kingdoms with King Xander and King Ryoma, Hoshido and Nohr were slowly on the way to healing, along with the kingdom of Valla.

With war no longer prowling around, both lands could heal over time and become peaceful like they used to be. Kana sometimes wished he had a childhood of being raised by his parents. Unfortunately, he and his older sister had been born during wartime and their parents had placed them in Deeprealms to keep them safe—until they were ready to leave. Despite that, it was worth it. He got to spend more time with his family, make some new friends and grew up just a little from his preteen years. Thank goodness, too. His voice had a major improvement when the growth spurt hurdled itself at him like a cannonball. He didn't sound as “girly” as he used to. Not only that, but he improved on his swordplay and keeping his inner beasts in check—both of them. His maturity also improved, but he knew he still had a lot of work to do considering that department.

At the thought of his accomplishments and his family, he held a smile at them, before hearing the telltale signs of a _swoosh_ coming right for him that snapped him out of his reveries. Oh, right.

_Chink!_

He held up his blade to block an oncoming attack from his current opponent and its teammate. Goodness, these things were as strong as those Vallite soldiers! They had the same dead, purple skin, glowing eyes and were warriors armed with weapons of their choice. Or whatever it could be. Quickly, he flipped forward, kicking at his foe before bringing down sword to slice the vermin. It groaned out before falling and disappearing in a shadowy mist. The boy didn't have time to celebrate when its partner was lashing out at him, too. Gritting his teeth, he prepared himself for the blow.

Sidestepping its swing of its axe, he rolled onto the ground and then slashed, damaging the cretin. It groaned, but still remained on its toes and went for another strike.

“ _Too slow!”_ The boy thought and parried it. However, this cretin was a little stronger than its fallen pal and was seriously putting the pressure on him. He may have unnatural strength and speed due to his parentage, but a little bit of him was still human and as humanized as he was, the monster in his sight was bearing its weight on him. Heavily. Its breath stank like garbage, a dark, shadowy mist as its breath. He did his best to _not_ inhale it; grunting, he lashed out a kick to the fiend, forcing it to stumble back while he took the initiative and stabbed it through its center.

That one hit was enough to fell it.

With a sigh, the boy wiped his brow, lowering his sword as he did so but didn't sheathe it. Not yet. There could be more of them out here and they would likely show up randomly, just like the two he'd fought and five others before them. The youth desperately wished for his family—he was and felt so alone. Sure, he was a teenager now, but the weight of being by himself felt overwhelming. He didn't like it one bit. Where could they be anyway? He looked around his current area. It was nothing but a grassy plain with a few built forts in the place, some trees here and there and a current of a river running by and a tall bridge over it. This place was unfamiliar to him—where in Nohr or Hoshido was he? Or, could it be that he was in a Deeprealm? The last one seemed more logical.

“ _Calm down. Think things through like Uncle Leo or Uncle Takumi would. I'm in an unfamiliar location. The best thing to do is to find civilization and, uh, gather information. I think that's what they lectured me on. Right. Do that. Then, search for clues.”_ The youth was, by no means, a strategist. He could only make due with what he had: his knowledge. He would pride himself on being able to remember key phrases from his uncles' teachings later. Right now, he had an objective to fulfill—

“Hey, you there! Are you all right?”

—Or, not? Wait, was that his uncle, King Ryoma?! Whirling on his heel, expression shifting from its grim look not even seconds prior to find the Hoshidan king. He would question why the man was here in this odd place than in the Shirasagi castle later. He was glad to be in the company of _someone_ he knew! However, upon seeing the supposed king that was his relative, he was sourly disappointed to find that it wasn't him but another man approaching him.

He had blue hair, distinctively, wearing clothing and armor that looked Nohrian. A strange sword with a teardrop looking shape near its base was in his grasp. He appeared very regal-looking, like some kind of royalty. Although, he couldn't be too sure.

With him, a group of others were also there; a brown-haired man clad in light blue armor, that of a Great Knight; a blonde-haired girl sporting a strange, Nohrian-like dress only armed with a healing staff; two knights, one clad in red, another in green, with respective hair coloring and weapons at their side; a burly blond-haired male with nothing but his pants and footwear on him, an axe hefted over his right shoulder; an archer with an elegant, regal sort of feel to him; a red-haired woman with a witch-like hat, clad in black, and carrying a tome of fire on her. A mage, perhaps?

Last but not least, there was a young woman with white hair, clad in a dark and purple robe, a blade belted at her side and a tome of thunder in her hand. The youth was a bit in shock from the people that appeared and gave them slightly distrustful and suspicious look—after all, his uncle Takumi told him to be cautious of newcomers! It seemed the mutual feeling of suspicion was reciprocated by the knight in blue armor, who only leveled a disapproving stare at him.

“It appears the child is unharmed, milord,” the blue knight eventually spoke up after a visual glance. Said “child's” frown deepened. He wasn't a child at all! He was growing up to being a fine, young man! “He seemed to have been spared the worst of the unprecedented attack by the Risen.”

Risen? What are those?

“That's good,” the blue-haired royal-that-sounded-suspiciously-like-his-uncle spoke up again before offering the lad a light smile. “But it's best to hear it from you; are you all right?” The youth relaxed a little bit, lowering his guard some, unsure as to why he did—likely some childhood things he used to do—and nodded.

“I'm all right, thank you.”

It wouldn't do to shun these people. As much as he wanted to lean on the suspicion that they could be up to no good or mysterious and ask a million and one questions, they were the first group of people he saw and could interact with to get information. They could, at the very least, direct him to civilization. Plus, they looked like warriors, a rag-tag group that were outfitted with Nohrian-styled armor and weaponry. They might be good people and echoing the trust his mother gave to others upon first meeting them resonated within him. So, he'd give it a shot. He pushed his curiosity aside in favor of asking the viable questions.

Where could he find the nearest village/town/city?

How long did it take to get there?

Things like those.

The man before him answered easily and the youth was glad about it. Before he bid them farewell, the obvious lord of the group called out to him. “Wait,” the boy paused in his steps to look back, “Thank you for your help today, unintentional or not. I'm Chrom, the Prince of Ylisse. May we have your name?” Probably for future reference. Seeing as it was no harm to introduce himself, he turned back around to face the blue-haired lord and bowed, quaintly at a thirty-degree angle, which is a Hoshidan custom.

“Of course, sir.” Best to remain polite. He turned slightly, heading back to the direction he was originally going for. “It's Kana.” So, the prince of Ylisse? He'd vaguely remembered that but only in passing from his mother's adventures prior to her marrying his father. Some kingdom of legend or, well, _something_.

 

* * *

Chrom stared at retreating back of the teen as he was departing through the open road, heading towards Ylisstol's direction. He wasn't sure why, but the way the youth held himself spoke of nobility. Not only that, some of his features were oddly familiar. Like he'd seen them before. Admittedly, he didn't get to examine the teenager very well from the minimal encounter, but he drunk in as much of his image as he could, to print it to memory.

Short, spiky hair.

Grey eyes.

Familiar armor.

Familiar pointed ears.

The prince wasn't sure, but he couldn't put his finger on when and where he'd last seen them. A quick glance to Frederick, the blue-clad knight and his sister, Lissa, the healer, told him that they were coming to the same conclusions. The others of the Shepherds didn't appear to recognize the youth, so it was only just the three of them. Well, no point dwelling on it any further. They needed to head for Ferox. “Well, that was certainly interesting,” the white-haired woman spoke up. Her name was Robin.

“Agreed,” Chrom admitted. “We shouldn't dawdle for too long. I wager we may see him again in the future.”

“Just like Marth?” Lissa added, almost hopefully. “Right?”

Her brother only supplied a small nod. “Hopefully.” With him in the lead again, the Shepherds were back on track for their march towards their Feroxi neighbors, to gain aid for the conflict against the Plegians that would, no doubt, form in a matter of days.

 


	2. Retrace Your Steps? Precisely.

When he first arrived to the city a few hours later, Ylisstol, he had been taken aback.

It was busy, not to mention, huge! It was full of lively townspeople, just like at home. They looked happy, chatting excitedly about whatever was the topic on hand. Buildings almost as far as the eye could see and they towered like in Windmire and Crykensia of Nohr; there was an abundant of food stalls like in the Castle Town of Shirasagi of Hoshido. With the looming and beautiful castle in the background, it made the transition a little easier for Kana to adjust, although not much. He knew he was still in unfamiliar territory despite he felt like he was coming home. He tried to put the inner strategist in him to work, as it was important to dig for more information, but being awestruck by the beauty of the capital city took his breath away.

The roads were paved in a similar manner as Nohr’s streets were right along with unlit lampstands at every other corner or three miles on the sideway paths. If he didn’t know any better, he’d have thought this place was like a hybrid of both of the kingdoms, like an area where it specifically blended the Black Night and White Light Kingdoms. With the sun still shining in the sky, the entire place was stunning. It left Kana frozen in place—so much so that he didn’t see an oncoming wagon heading through Ylisstol’s gates. He pardoned himself out of the way and finally snapped back to focus.

His original reason finally played into his mind and he set out to doing whatever he could to gather information without being too suspicious. There were soldiers stationed every other way he looked, many of them women garbed very similarly to the Sky Knights of Hoshido with a touch of Nohrian-styled armor, however. There were others he spotted, like a few cavaliers and archers. They were mostly on their horses and pegasi, patrolling around the city. At the sight of the soldiers, Kana couldn’t hold back a light smile from appearing on his face. Ylisstol, wherever lands these were, was definitely a blend of two of his countries and perhaps a dash of the third, too.

Then again, now that he reminded himself, where exactly was “here”?

Trying to rewind back to when he encountered the Prince and his ragtag group, Kana recalled what the lord said. “If I remember right, he said he was the ‘Prince of Ylisse’?” the young dragonspawn thought quietly to himself. Ylisse. For some reason, the name itself was familiar. The Vallite Prince was sure he’d heard of it before but was unsure from where. Perhaps his mother knew? Or, was it something from his father’s adventurous tales? Was this Ylisse even a place on the map or the globe? Well, there was only one way to truly find out.

Unfortunately, the words on every sign or board that he bypassed weren’t legible to him; Kana deduced they weren’t of Nohrian or Hoshidan language origin. The writing was slightly loopy, almost like that of Nohr but not as close. An entirely different language and writing system, he supposed. He was ever glad that he could still communicate with the people though. It seemed like the language was universal albeit some had stranger accents that accompanied their tones. Thankfully, after asking around, he was directed to the nearest shop. A young woman with red hair, held in a ponytail, garbed in merchant clothing, was stationed at her vendor, awaiting new customers. Or, rather, she was waving another customer goodbye.

Something about her smile, how she carried herself, that posture, and how her eyes glowed with delight at the sight of the gold coins going clink in the small bag of fortunes she was recently awarded seemed very, _very_ , familiar. Did he know her from somewhere?

“Thank you, come again!” She beamed happily, still giddily juggling the bag of coins in her hand. “That’s another fifteen hundred you made today, Anna-gal! They were practically all over it, teehee.” She was clearly talking to herself, but thanks to his enhanced hearing, Kana heard her. If he heard her correctly, she referred to herself as “Anna” and if so, then what a coincidence! He knew an Anna back home. Perhaps this one was as nice as the other one.

“Excuse me?” Kana politely interrupted her self-indulged monologue. The merchant hummed in thought, still smiling as she pocketed her reward and turned her attention on her latest customer. “I’m new here and I was wondering if I could buy a map of the area?”

“Sure thing!” She sing-songed, retrieving a rolled up map, held together by a leather string. She placed the item on her vendor’s table. “That’ll be five hundred gold!” Her voice was so sweet and luring, like it was pressuring him to buy it or scram. Kana smiled anyhow, hoping the currency he had on him would work. If it didn’t he would be on his own, hunting away like one of his friends and taking from the wilds of the area. Presenting her the amount he hoped was right, Anna hummed again, counting the coins and making sure the value added up.

“All right, it’s the right amount, young sir. Here’s your map. Don’t lose it!”

“Thank you,” Kana said as he gently stashed it into his small inventory he had on him. Internally, he was glad that it worked. The prince bowed slightly and began to turn. “Well, I better be on my way. Thank you so much—”

“Hm, hold on there, young man!” The Anna-alike halted him. She gave him that signature “Anna pose” that he was intimate with along with that “Anna smile”, the one that if he didn’t buy something _else_ , she would give him deep cuts. And not the kind that dealt with sales prices, either. “Don’t you want to keep shopping here? Surely there’s something _else_ in my humble wares that caught your eye?” It was an innocent question, one he’d been subjected to before. Kana did everything he could to force out a casual smile and decline. He did eye a couple of those silver weapons that she had, but as tempting as they were, he was still on a self-imposed mission.

“I’m sorry, ma’am, I must be on my way. I’m looking for someone—my family. We were separated recently.” It was the truth after all. He didn’t want to spend too much time dilly-dallying when it could be used to searching for his family. He watched as Anna’s grin and posture subsided slowly, an expression of understanding flitting about her face. She hummed low and softly before nodding.

“That makes sense. Well, I best not keep you too long! I wish you good luck on your travels.”

“Thank you.”

He turned to leave again, but was once again stopped by the merchant. Politely, the prince turned back, wondering what was wrong this time, when the salesperson herself walked from her vendor and approached him. She handed him a card that was illuminated in silver. It was thin like paper but hard enough to not be damaged by simple things like dirt or wrinkles. “Take care of that. It’s a special Silver Card! Use it at any shop to get discounted prices on items—the sales clerks will know what to do when they see you with it. Take it as a gift from me and on behalf of all my sisters out there.” Anna told him, flashing him a wink. Kana blushed a little, puzzled at why she gave him something that seemed very precious.

But, it was welcomed nonetheless. He would be grateful for its use later on, he was sure.

“Thank you, Miss Anna.”

“No problem, little man. And please, it's just ‘Anna’! No need for the title it makes me feel so old!”

The prince chuckled softly. He understood that as his mother had said something similar. Thinking of his mother brought upon unwelcome feelings of homesickness but he pushed them aside. He was going to make progress. He just had to continue going. Anna suggested he try the card at the next shop over and buy a few things for the road, like reminding him to restock on valuable medicinal items like Concoction and food and water for the journey. Now that was a reason to get embarrassed about—he would have walked straight out of the city with none of those and likely would have perished later on.

Of course, he was his father’s son, he would be able to sniff out a water stream or food of any kind eventually if he had to. Maybe brushing up on his hunting skills wouldn’t be such a bad idea.

He took most of Anna’s suggestions to heart; a few water canteens, another healing staff, a few healing salves and funnily enough, another bag. The one he carried his weapons and map in wasn’t all that big in the first place. Before he did leave, he asked her the questions he had on his mind, digging up information on his family members. He tried to describe them without fully giving their true identities away. Who knew if anyone would, at least, recognize his parents’ names? Who knew if there were hidden enemies of theirs lying in wait?

Unfortunately, Anna didn’t have anything on them, although pointed out that he should try to head north where two of her sisters were currently on their way to do some business. “They might know more about the outside world than me,” was what she told him. Well, at it was a start.

On the way out of the capital city, he ran the map by a random soldier, to ask for directions and if he had seen the people he was looking for, describing them as he went. He tried to keep it vague, as he knew telling more people about himself was bad news. The less attention the better. He claimed he had forgotten many things, and needed a refresher on the continent. The soldier was kind enough to point out where the notable locations were. After thanking her and walking off, Kana left the city, steering off the path and paused.

This continent was called Ylisse.

The region he was in, a halidom, was named after it, Ylisse, ruled by an exalted lady named Emmeryn.

The neighboring region to the west was a desert kingdom called Plegia, ruled by a king named Gangurl? Gangral? Gengrel? Whatever.

The neighboring region in the north was a kingdom called Regna Ferox, ruled by a Khan, though there were two Khans, only one ruled at any one time.

The supposed “recap” for him was confusing, since he already knew of three kingdoms already. The closer he looked at his new map and the one he remembered from when he looked over his mother’s shoulders—they were entirely _different_! Nothing about them were the same! Well, perhaps three kingdoms in one location, technically speaking, but everything else? _Nothing_. There wasn’t a sign of Hoshido or Nohr on the map’s parchment. The dialect of the people he did speak to were oddly accentuated but nearly the same. Maybe the countries he knew weren’t too far away from where he was?

Was it perhaps overseas? If so, he would need a boat. Or hitch a ride on a ship. While this Ylisse halidom was very close to the seas, there wasn’t a docking town or port or any indication of the aforementioned anywhere on the map.

However, in the Kingdom of Plegia’s side, there looked to be something that could probably be of merit. It looked so far away and he wasn’t sure if he could fly the trip there. He’d never exhausted himself in his dragon form for long. But if it was his only chance to find his family, what other choice did he have? Although, exposing himself in as a dragon would likely be unfavorable. If anything, if he were in a tough spot later, he’d need it as a backup plan or surprise attack. No one would realize he was one until he changed into it. If anyone saw him transform or see that there was a massive dragon just outside the capital city, it would cause more harm than not.

Not to mention, it would send the people into a panic and he would run the risk of being slain.

‘ _Don’t do it. It’s not worth it,_ ’ he told himself, the grasp of his dragonstone’s cool surface underneath his touch removed. He slid the stone back in its place, where it touched his skin. If he had to walk there, then so be it. He’d do it for them. It was unfortunate the soldier didn’t have anything on his family, either. With a sigh, he set out towards the forested area that was said to be east of Ylisstol. That would be his first stop for the day. He would follow Anna’s suggestion, yet again, and try to locate her sisters for assistance. It seemed like the safest route; perhaps, this way, he would be able to learn first-hand about this new region.

For the life of him, however, Kana couldn’t figure out _why_ the name “Ylisse” still struck a chord with him. Maybe his mother did come to a place like this before. No matter—he would probably figure it out, sooner or later. Now that he thought about it, he was backtracking from where he originally started, when he met that Chrom character and his band of friends, if they could be called that. It was hours ago when they separated, so who knew if they were still in the area? Probably not. They looked like they were in a hurry after their introduction.

With a sigh, Kana looked skyward as he walked along the dirt road. He sent a silent request that his family were all right and promised he would do everything in his power to find them. His grey eyes found the sun glowing a faint orange and knew it was on its slow descent towards the other side of the world, for night to eventually come out. That soldier had also warned him of bandits and the threat of these creatures called Risen. He knew of the latter, slightly, thanks to the Ylissean Prince’s knight telling him—indirectly though.

‘ _I’ll be fine. I’m a dragon. I’m my parents’ son. I won’t lose to them._ ’ Kana thought with utmost confidence. Encouraging himself, he continued to stride forward, determined to make things right.

 

* * *

 

Unknown to him, however, that a pair of eyes had been following him the entire time, lurking and keeping to the shadows. The figure stared at the dragon prince’s retreating form in the slight distance, mulling over what they had seen. An internal struggle later, and they reached a conclusion to head after the boy. The figure, garbed in dark robes, clutching a tome in their hands, slowly but surely, tailed after him.

' _Familiar. He is familiar. Stay close to him. Find out if he’s really real…_ '


	3. In the Snow? It's Chilly.

This honestly wasn’t her day, to be frank. Actually, the past few hours hadn’t been exactly nice to her.

“Hand over all yer goods girly or else!”

First, being separated from her family and now _this_. It didn’t help that it was snowing in this area, either. Some bandits were looting a village, or were attempting to, but were thwarted by a single merchant woman, who seemed very familiar for some reason, and then she realized why. Heck, they even shared the same name: Anna. Of course, this Anna was different from the one she knew; this one preferred swords over bows and she dressed in nearly _all_ red. In the wake of the surprise attack, she had dropped her Beaststone, and she had to resort to avoiding their attacks and counterattack with simple kicks or punches. It was something her precious Daddy had taught her to do, just in case. Although, she should have kept a sword on her as well, like her Mom showed her how. Why she hadn’t, she didn’t know for sure; perhaps she didn’t think she’d need it.

But still, she managed to defeat those that attacked her in close range. Now, the one that had just yelled at her was approaching fast and had a killer axe in his hands. She narrowed her eyes, ready to avoid him.

Before the brute could get closer, the Anna came to her aid, slicing into the brigand with her steel sword, grinning after taking him down with ease. “You alright there?” The merchant asked with light concern.

“I am, thank you.” It was best to be polite.

“That’s good. I wasn’t sure if you were an ally or a civilian, but I’m glad to know you’re the former. Hmm, oh, you have a small scrape there, let me heal you up~!” Anna whipped out her healing staff and showered its magic over her unexpected guest. The wound closed up within a minute’s time. “There you are, good as new.”

She gave Anna a smile of gratitude. Thankfully, there were only a few bandits around and thanks to their slightly combined efforts, they had been defeated. Those that survived retreated. Good riddance, too.

“Now then, we best head into the village and let them know we cleared out the bandits around here,” Anna started, “We can get acquainted there.” She smiled warmly, which gave her a nostalgic feeling. The Anna she knew would smile at them in the same way, and seeing she was one of her Mom’s friends, the smile directed at her at times always felt welcoming. But first, there was something she had to do…

“I’m sorry, but I have to find something of mine,” she said, Anna halting in her steps as she glanced back to her newly gained ally, “I dropped it in the snow when that bandits came after me.”

“Oh? What is it and what does it look like? Perhaps I can help look for it?”

She was tempted to decline the offer for help, but seeing as two pair of eyes would be better than one, she agreed. “It’s a brown-colored stone that shines a little when light reflects off it. It’s kind of pretty,” _to Mom_ she added the last thought to herself, “It should be nearby.” Anna hummed in agreement and both ladies began their search. The snow beneath them wasn’t deep, just around three inches, but it would definitely hide objects within it.

She tried not to panic at the loss of her Beaststone; she had ample control over it, but there were times when part of it would leak out. Without the stone in her possession or at least very close by within arm’s reach, she felt very vulnerable, naked without it. After a few minutes of fruitless searching on her end, she sighed heavily. Her nose was a little too cold to use properly and she herself was getting colder by the second.

“Ah-ha, is this it?” Anna’s voice called out from behind her. Turning, she spotted the brown stone in the merchant’s hands and smiled in relief when the minimal light reflected off its surface. There it was!

“That’s it, thank you!” She beamed happily, her tail wagging in excitement. Taking it from Anna, she clutched the Beaststone close to her, feeling its slumbering power that was her own within it. She deposited it into her pocket where her other stone lie, safe and sound in her possession once more.

“It’s no trouble, glad I could help!” Anna giggled. “Come along now, it’s getting too cold out here! Let’s head back.” The woman didn’t seem to question her or her origins of why she needed the stone in the first place. Maybe she already knew what she was? Her kind usually stayed a bit isolated from the rest of the world’s population, staying upon a mountain according to her daddy. There were very few humans that knew of her kind just by that, too.

She wouldn’t question it either. This lady was probably well informed.

As they trekked through the snow towards the homely village up ahead, curiosity caught Anna’s tongue and she couldn’t help but inquire a little of her companion. “I know we said we could get acquainted at the village, but I think a name exchange wouldn’t hurt.” Again, that light giggle and her smile warmed her being, “I’m Anna, a traveling merchant around the area. May I have your name?”

It wouldn’t hurt to introduce herself. Anna smelled nice and seemed nice, so therefore she had to be nice.

“I’m Velouria,” she replied genuinely, brushing a few of her bangs from her face. One strand in particular stood out, being different than the rest of her hair, although it appeared to blend well with it anyway. “It’s nice to meet you, Anna. Though I remember meeting another named Anna before.”

This piqued the Trickster’s attention. “Oh? You’ve met one of my sisters?”

“Yes. She is one of my Mom’s friends, a good friend to our family. Although she liked to use bows than swords, you two practically look the same.”

Anna tilted her head, not in shock though. It wasn’t every day that she heard of one of her many sisters or several cousins having taken to the bow. In fact, that was a very long time ago when an ancestor of hers had used a bow before the switch to swords. They also didn’t pick up on all natural red and gold fashion and embroidery until a few centuries past. Up until then, the Anna’s were usually in brown clothing of sorts, from shirts to cloaks, or white tops. One of the last Anna’s since those centuries past had been recorded to using a bow then.

How strange. Well, she wasn’t going to dwell too much on it. Who knows? Perhaps one of the current Anna’s were trying to reminisce by mimicking the old days. They weren’t all like-minded, after all!

“Well then! She sounds quite exciting! I’m glad she’s friends with your family, Velouria,” Anna giggled. “We’re almost there to the village now. Let’s go so we don’t freeze out here!” The pair continued their trek through the snow, passing many trees blanketed in white and watching the fall of passive snowflakes. Velouria smiled a little then recalled her situation and sighed to herself. Where was her daddy now? Her mom? Her brother? It seemed like only yesterday they were on the road to visiting lands in Nohr to begin spreading peace and knowledge of the kingdom of Valla. Then, all of a sudden, a light, and soon, she wound up here in this snowy, forested area, alone, for a good hour or so. Then those awful bandits showed up and ambushed her.

She was clearly eighteen now, and as a royal, she had to have a level of calm. Although it was very difficult to maintain when those brutes were coming after her, trying to rob her clean and then capture her for slave trading. The nerve of them! It was only good luck that Miss Anna had been nearby to assist. That still left the Vallite princess in a tough spot; her family had gone missing and she was alone, albeit in friendly company, but who knew how long that would last? She’d have to eventually leave to try and find her family. She longed for her parents and little brother, but she had to remain strong.

‘ _Daddy and Mom would want me to be strong and I have to be for my little brother. They… I have to believe they are okay. I can’t give up. Mom wouldn’t have._ ’ Surely, keeping these words to herself would have some merit.

_Surely_.

She just had to believe in them and stay on her toes.

For her own sake. For her family's sake.


End file.
